


There's Nothing to Fear

by TheLovelyLadyAuthor



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Arkham Asylum, Childhood Trauma, Family, Gen, Jonathan Crane's Sister, Protective Siblings, Psychological Trauma, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Siblings, Trauma, fear toxin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-30 20:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19410688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLovelyLadyAuthor/pseuds/TheLovelyLadyAuthor
Summary: Jonathan Crane's younger sister was kidnapped when they were children. By a chance of fate, they are reunited as adults. But what will his traumatized little sister think of the man he's become?





	1. The End is Just the Beginning

The quiet air surrounding the old Keeny house was filled with the laughter of a young child.

Coraline Crane pranced happily into the trees surrounding the back of the property near the corn fields, which led to an old, secluded little park, making it one of Jonathan’s favorite places.

Speaking of Jonathan, the ten year old darted after his younger sister, not wanting to lose the energetic five year old in the woods. Coraline was the only thing that made him happy, and he’d hate to see her get hurt.

Being smaller, Coraline darted right under the twigs and branches of the trees, while the taller, lankier Jonathan had to maneuver around them.

“Coraline! Come back!” Jonathan called out to his sister breathlessly, causing her to stop and turn to look back at him, giggling.

When he reached her side, she turned and wrapped her small arms around his waist.

“Johnny!” She exclaimed, giggling when her older brother hugged her in return, gently stroking her brunette hair.

“We have to stick together, okay?” Jonathan spoke softly, stepping away to hold her by the shoulders, looking at her seriously. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”

Coraline smiled and nodded her head, taking Jonathan’s hand and leading him through the trees.

Jonathan listened peacefully to his little sister sing nursery rhymes as they continued on their way to the park, finally emerging from the trees to the small area that held a rusted play structure, a set of old swings, and a single park bench.

Coraline skipped over to the structure and started darting around, giggling in amusement, while Jonathan made his way over to the park bench, pulling the small book out of the inside pocket of his jacket.

He ignored the faint sounds of the cars on the road through the trees and focused on reading, while his sister had the time of her life.

A while passed, neither of the children aware that they were not alone in the area, at least not until Coraline slid down the slide, coming face to face with a tall, blond haired man.

“Hi sweetheart,” The man chimed quietly, making sure the dark haired boy on the bench didn’t hear. “Are you having fun?”

“Yes…” Coraline nodded her head wearily, knowing that Jonathan had warned her about strangers.

“Do you like candy? I have some candy.” The man offered, cold gray eyes staring into the little girl’s icy blue ones.

Her face lit up.

“I do! I love candy! May I have some?” She inquired, batting her eyelashes at the man, who chuckled softly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a large sucker.

Coraline reached out a small hand for the sucker, but the man jerked it back.

“If you want it, you’ll have to come with me.” He explained, and Coraline hesitated, before looking over to where Jonathan was.

Seeing this, the blond grabbed her wrist, causing the little girl to yelp.

“Johnny!” Coraline cried out before the blond could cover her mouth, causing him to growl as he grabbed her, standing up and holding her struggling form against him. The little girl bit at his hand but he barely flinched.

At the sound of his voice exclaimed with such a frightened tone, Jonathan jumped to his feet, the book falling to the ground as his eyes landed on the tall man holding his sister.

“Hey, let her-” Jonathan was cut off as he was grabbed from behind, held still by a darker haired man, bigger than the blond. He looked down at Jonathan, pale green eyes giving him a malicious look, before turning back to his partner.

“Get her out of here. I’ll deal with the kid.”

The blond nodded his head and took off through the trees with Coraline, causing Jonathan to struggle even more, but the ten year old’s efforts were no match for the strong adult.

Jonathan, like Coraline, attempted to bite down on the hand covering his mouth, and did so successfully, causing the man to gasp in pain, before he growled angrily and threw Jonathan roughly to the ground.

“Light’s out, kid.”

Grabbing a fistful of Jonathan’s hair, the man slammed his head into the bench, causing Jonathan’s vision to go funny and he fell onto his side on the ground.

The last thing he saw was the man running off, disappearing as everything faded away.

“Coraline…”


	2. A Faded Memory

_Fourteen Years Later_

The young girl standing in the kitchen would earn a lot of looks if she were out in public.

She was wearing a torn button up shirt and a pair of old men’s boxers, and her pale skin was adorned with multiple scars and bruises that stuck out like blood on fresh snow. Messy brown hair that seemed as though it had never been cut, was tied back in a loose ponytail.

The girl was silent as she prepared two separate plates that each held a sandwich and some potato chips. She then grabbed two beers from the fridge and turned, carrying the food into the next room.

She had been there so long, she could barely remember how she got there. She could barely even remember her own name. All she knew was how to please, how to prepare food and clean up after the two men she had lived with for as long as she could remember.

“About fucking time.” The dark haired man in the armchair snarled as he snatched the beer from her hand, causing her to wince as she placed his plate down on the coffee table.

She handed the other beer to the blond man on the couch, he didn’t even give her a passing glance as she set his plate down as well. Shaking slightly, she awaited any other commands, but, when none came, she turned, about to leave the room.

Suddenly, there was a large knock on the door, causing the girl to jump. Who on earth would be knocking, no one ever visited.

“Police! Open up!”

“Fuck,” Tony snarled, jumping to his feet, the food and drink falling to the ground, but his pale green eyes barely acknowledged them. “Coraline, get in the kitchen and don’t come-”

He couldn’t even finish his words as the door slammed open, about five police officers filing in with guns drawn, aimed at Kyle and Tony. Coraline began trembling, backing up as far as she could to press herself against the wall.

“Down on your knees!” The officer at the front growled at the two men, who both looked furious but did as they were told, dropping down and placing their hands behind their heads.

Once they were down, the man who had shouted, an older, gray haired man, moved slowly and cautiously over to Coraline, holding his hands up in surrender to assure the frightened girl that he didn’t pose a threat.

“Hello, Coraline, my name is Jim. You are Coraline Crane, correct?” He questioned softly.

Coraline swallowed nervously, nodding her head. Jim gave her a sympathetic smile, before taking off his coat and draping it around her trembling shoulders.

“Come on, sweetheart, we’re going to take you somewhere safe. You’re safe now.” He repeated those words softly to her as he escorted her towards the door, past the two men who were being handcuffed while giving her vicious looks.

Jim helped her into the back of a police cruiser, and, much to her surprise, climbed into the back with her, letting another cop climb into the driver’s seat.

“Do you know where you are, miss?” Jim questioned, to which Coraline’s lip trembled as she shook her head once more. “You’re in Star City. You went missing from Georgia fourteen years ago and were moved quite a bit away.”

Coraline just stared at him, faint memories lingering on the edge of her mind. Georgia? Star City? Those places barely even sounded familiar.

“I’m the police commissioner from Gotham City,” Jim continued, watching her process this information. “I was called in because my precinct has, uh… connections to your closest living relative. We believe… despite his current situation, he’s the best person for you to be with after this ordeal.”

Coraline nodded her head, feeling a small amount of hope rise up inside of her. Jonathan. She remembered that name. She faintly remembered his face. He tried to save her when…

It startled Jim when the fragile girl leaned forward and grabbed his hand, looking at him with pleading eyes. He could understand the unspoken question lingering in her gaze.

“Don’t worry,” Jim nodded, watching out the window as the two felons were loaded into the back of another car. “We’re heading to Gotham now to get you back with someone familiar. You have nothing to be scared of.”

Coraline nodded and leaned back, wrapping her arms around herself as the vehicle started moving.

Jim didn’t move to the front seat of the car, he knew that the young girl would probably want someone she seemed to like near her. He was quiet though, leaving her to her thoughts.

The young girl watched out the window, not knowing what was ahead for her.


	3. The Fearful and the Fearless

Jonathan Crane lay on the worn cot in his small cell in Arkham Asylum. Hands behind his head, he stared up at the ceiling.

It was boring to say the least. Edward was usually his cell mate, but, he was on the large right now and Jonathan doubted that he was planning on getting caught any time soon. So, for now, Jonathan was on his own with nothing to do.

His boredom was interrupted by a knock on the glass wall of his cell, causing him to let out an annoyed noise and push himself into a sitting position. He raised an eyebrow at the figure.

“Commissioner? What a pleasant surprise… what do you want?”

“Pleasant as always, Crane,” Gordon rolled his eyes. “I’m just going to cut right to the chase here. We found your sister.”

Jonathan’s smug smirk disappeared as he stared at him in shock. He didn’t even know that they knew he had a sister. Was this some kind of trick? Coraline had been missing for fourteen years, the missing persons case had been closed. She had been presumed dead.

“Is she alright?” Jonathan allowed myself to ask warily, watching the surprise that crossed Jim’s face at the amount of concern that laced hi voice.

“Well… yes and no. She’s safe, but, she seems to be pretty beaten up, lots of scars and bruises, highly malnourished… we’re not sure, but, I don’t think she has any memory of before her captive life.”

“You’re not sure?” He repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Why don’t you just ask her if she remembers?”

“She doesn’t talk. She’s either mute or just traumatized into not speaking. Again, I’m not entirely sure. To be honest, I figured having her see a familiar face would help. Maybe you’ll be able to get her to talk.” He explained, and Jonathan’s eyes widened.

“What are you talking about? You’re not bringing her-”

His words were cut off as the commissioner pulled a very fragile looking young woman into his line of view. She was shaking, looking down at the ground and avoiding her brother’s eyes.

Jonathan jumped to my feet, suddenly put on edge. He didn’t want Coraline to see him here, locked up in a mental asylum. What would she think of him? She wouldn’t ever want to speak to him again! She’d think he was a lunatic-

His ramblings were cut short as Gordon opened the door, offering the entrance to the shaking young woman, who stared, rather frightened.

“Coraline? Do you remember your brother? Jonathan?” Gordon prompted, causing Jonathan to look down at the ground, ashamed.

She wouldn’t remember him. Even if she did, she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. He let her get kidnapped. He didn’t save her. He was a felon, a criminal, a psychopath-

It took Jonathan a moment to register the thin arms wrapped around his torso, and the face buried in his chest. It made his heart flutter slightly, remembering the last day he’d seen her, the way she hugged him, like she was his hero.

“You look worried, Jonathan,” Jim observed with a smirk. “One might even say… scared.”

Jonathan ignored the man’s words, knowing he was trying to get to him, but, all that was on his mind at that moment was his little sister, who was finally safe in his care once again.

“Thank you, commissioner.” Jonathan spoke quietly, taking Gordon by surprise once more.

“I… you’re welcome… if you don’t mind, she’ll be staying here with you until her trail against her captors. This would probably be the safest place.”

“Yes that’s fine.” Jonathan nodded absentmindedly, pulling his sister down onto the cot, allowing her to nuzzle up against him. Jim watched the two for a moment before securing the cell door, and wandering off to discuss the girl’s living arrangements with officials.

Jonathan was silent for a few moments, holding his shaking sister and petting her hair gently.

“I’m so sorry, Coraline… I never meant for anything to happen to you… I’m sorry I let them take you…”

She was quiet as he looked her over, his eyes taking in the bruises and scars on her shallow skin, the constant fearful shaking of her fingers. His blood boiled with anger as he held her closer to him.

“I won’t let you down again…”

_**~*~*~*~** _

The next morning Jonathan was awoke to the sound of light knocking on the cell glass.

Blinking his eyes open, they hovered over Coraline who was sound asleep, clutching to his shirt, and then to the glass wall of the cell.

“Good morning, commissioner.” Jonathan yawned calmly, watching Gordon raise an eyebrow.

“You’re being uncharacteristically polite, Crane. What’s the occasion?” Jim inquired, causing Jonathan to roll his eyes in slight annoyance.

“You saved my little sister and brought her back to me… I suppose I owe you.”

Jim smirked at the words that were obviously a bit hard for the criminal to get out, as he avoided looking at the commissioner as he said them.

“Give up your life of crime and we’ll call it even.” Jim responded, causing Jonathan to chuckle lightly, shaking his head in amusement.

“Nice try, but no thanks. What did you wake me up for?”

“I just want to ask you not to try and escape with Coraline until at least tomorrow.”

Jonathan blinked at him, his expression a bit perplexed at the police commissioner’s words. Moving Coraline away from him slightly, he pushed himself into a seated position.

“You’re giving me a date when I can escape?” Jonathan spoke in clarification, causing Jim to sigh and shake his head.

“No, I’m just asking you to not ‘attempt’ to escape.”

“Why?” Jonathan questioned, his frown furrowing in confusion. “Why does it matter when I 'attempt’ to escape? You know I will do it anyways.”

“Yes, I know. But, tomorrow at eleven is Coraline’s court meeting. You’ve been authorized to accompany her if you wish. We’re working on locking up the men who held her captive.” Gordon explained, to which Jonathan narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to subject her to court? She’s already fragile enough as it is! Don’t you think having to sit in court, feet away from her captors could mess her mind up even more?” Jonathan growled, sincerely worried about his sister’s mental state.

Jim shook his head, and Jonathan could see the apologetic look in his eyes.

“I understand your concern, but, we need to lock them up as soon as possible. Just make sure she’s ready for the court, alright?”

Before Jonathan could reply, Jim turned and left, leaving Jonathan to look down at his sleeping sister, trying to figure out how he could fix what he had allowed to be broken.


	4. Welcome to the Madhouse

Jonathan looked back at his sister as she twitched and whimpered in her sleep.

He watched her for a moment, noticing the subtle twitches and fidgets, along with the lone tears that were welling up in the corners of her eyes, clinging to her eyelashes.

“Coraline… Coraline, wake up…” Jonathan coaxed softly, reaching out to gently tuck a strand of brunette hair behind her ear. She twitches before her eyes fluttered open slowly, eyes identical to Jonathan’s appearing, sparkling with fear.

“It was just a dream…” He assured her gently, helping her sit up and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You’re safe here… no one is going to hurt you.”

She nodded her head wearily, reaching up to hastily wipe away the stray tears falling down her cheeks. Jonathan watched her calmly, gently rubbing her back in attempts to soothe her. After a moment, she seemed to be relaxing.

“There… feeling any better?” He questioned, causing her to nod. “That’s good. There’s nothing to be afraid of. The commissioner paid us a visit while you were sleeping… delivered some news.”

Coraline looked up at him curiously, silently prompting him to continue.

“Commissioner Gordon told me that your hearing is tomorrow. They’d like you to be there to help lock your captors away for good.”

Jonathan reached out and wrapped his arms around his younger sister as she began to tremble once more. He knew that this was not a good idea, he knew she should have some time to receive therapy or something of the sort before she had to face them.

But no, the commissioner had to have the hearing tomorrow. Perhaps it was for the best.

“I’ll be right with you the whole time… there’s nothing to fear.”

**_~*~*~*~_ **

Coraline clung to Jonathan’s sleeve as they entered the bustling cafeteria of Arkham Asylum.

Jonathan often paid no attention to the inmates, but, this time was a little different, as quite a few of the lesser known inmates were eyeing up his sister in a way he didn’t much care for.

“Who’s your friend, Jonathan?”

Coraline jumped and let out a startled yelp as the red haired man appeared, causing her to hide behind Jonathan, who rolled his eyes. Edward must have just been brought in.

“This is my sister, Coraline, Edward. She’s very easily startled, so if you could tone it down a bit, that would be lovely.” Jonathan spoke, his voice showing off a rather passive aggressive tone, causing Edward to frown for a moment before looking over at Coraline.

“Well, Coraline, my sincerest apologies for startling you. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Coraline eyed Edward’s outstretched hand for a moment, before hesitantly placing hers in it. Edward beamed happily and raised her hand up to his lips to gently kiss it, causing the girl to blush.

Jonathan growled slightly, and Edward got the hint, dropping Coraline’s hand with a bashful smirk before walking over to get a tray and stand in line for food. Jonathan led Coraline to do the same, standing patiently in the line.

“So, Jonathan,” Edward spoke up after a minute, pausing to grimace as the disgusting food was dropped on his tray. “How come you’ve never told me about your sister before?”

“She was presumed dead after her missing person’s case was dropped fourteen years ago.”

Edward looked up at Jonathan in surprise, though the brown haired man wasn’t paying much attention as he got his and Coraline’s tray filled.

Jonathan turned and headed towards one of the tables in the cafeteria, Edward following and setting his tray down as Jonathan did the same with his two. They were about to sit down when Coraline shrieked and was wrenched away from Jonathan.

Turning around, Jonathan clenched his fists when he saw Joker with one arm wrapped around Coraline’s waist, and the other holding her wrist.

She was pinned with her back against his chest and his chin was resting on her shoulder.

“Well what do we have here? Our little Scarecrow’s got a fearful little sister! Oh ha ha ain’t that a stitch! How ironic!”

Jonathan didn’t move, he could see that every gun of every guard was aimed at Joker. He could see the confusion on her face at the mention of ‘Scarecrow’ but, it was the true horror that crossed her face when the Joker whispered in her ear.

“Welcome to the Madhouse.”


	5. Order in the Court

Jonathan sat beside a trembling Coraline in the courtroom.

She was anxiously clutching to the sleeve of his suit as she stared over at the men that had held her captive. They were glaring at her, which Jonathan knew only heightened her fear.

Jonathan turned and gave them a calm, but terrifying look, causing their eyes to widen. While he was no longer in his Arkham uniform, as they had allowed him to wear his suit, but, he was still chained to the desk so he couldn’t attack those men if he wanted to.

Which, by all means, he definitely did.

“Is there anything Miss Crane would like to say?” The Judge questioned, looking down at Coraline who was toying with the hem of her knee length black dress. The shake of her head was so slight that the Judge barely saw it.

Jonathan looked down at Coraline, noticing the light tremble. He didn’t have to be Scarecrow to see that she was absolutely terrified.

“What does the Jury find the defendant?”

Jonathan stood up, pulling Coraline to her feet as well and wrapping an arm around her shoulders the best he could with the shackles on his wrists.

“The Jury finds the defendant guilty of all charges.”

Jonathan could see Coraline’s eyes light up at the words, and she looked up at Jonathan, the slightest smile crossing her face.

“Tony Marks and Kyle Shawn, I sentence you to thirty years in prison with no chance of parole.” The Judge spoke, finalizing the verdict with a bang of the mallet. Coraline grabbed Jonathan’s hand as commissioner Jim unlocked Jonathan’s shackles.

Coraline still looked nervously over at her captors as they were unchained from the desk, throwing her dirty looks.

“It’s alright, they can’t hurt you.” Jonathan reassured her, to which she nodded.

His words seemed to relax her slightly, but she still watched the men warily as the officers led them into the middle and started to drag them out. The darker haired of the two snarled at Coraline, before attempting to lunge at her, only to be restrained by an officer.

Jonathan didn’t even flinch, but Coraline shrieked and his her face in her brother’s sleeve, her body trembling in fear.

The two men snarled at Jonathan, who gave them a smug look as he comforted his sister.

“It’s alright, Coraline. I won’t let them touch you ever again, I promise you.” Jonathan reassured his sister softly, running his fingers through her soft hair. He felt her nod her head weakly against his chest, sniffling softly.

“Who knew you could be so kind, Crane.” Gordon smirked as he watched Jonathan interact with his fragile younger sister.

“I can be kind when it comes to my sister, commissioner,” Jonathan assured him with narrowed eyes. “Now, where will Coraline go? I doubt she’ll be allowed to stay in Arkham with me much longer.”

“Well, she’s nineteen, legally an adult. She’ll be given funds to start out with and they’ll help her get a job and find somewhere to live.”

At Gordon’s words, Coraline’s grip tightened on Jonathan’s shirt, causing him to frown.

“She clearly doesn’t want to leave, commissioner. The best place for her is with me, someone she knows. I need to stay with her to take care of her.” Jonathan explained calmly, though Jim simply shook his head.

“You don’t really have any say, Jonathan. It doesn’t work that way, I’m afraid.”

Jim Gordon felt his heart skip a beat at the smirk that then crossed Jonathan’s face as the commissioner realized what he had said.

“You’re… afraid, you say?” Jonathan chuckled, before shaking his head. “My apologies, commissioner, you’ve done me a great service, but, I have no choice but to do this.”

Gordon’s eyes widened, but before he had the change to do anything, Jonathan dropped the vile of toxin hidden in his sleeve to the floor, causing it to shatter and spill into the room as a thick orange fog, causing everyone to cough, before they slowly began to witness their fears.

Jonathan wrapped his arms around Coraline and pulled her out of the room, dropping small pellets of toxin whenever someone tried to step in and intervene with their escape.

Though there was one thing that Jonathan hadn’t thought of when he planned this on the fly escape, and it had potential to be its downfall.

Coraline wasn’t immune to the toxin.


	6. An Unwanted Experiment

Jonathan managed to make it out of the Courthouse doors, leaving toxin billowing out in clouds behind him, and down about three back alleys before the toxin really began to hit Coraline.

He was so bent on getting away that he didn’t notice her condition until her wrist slipped from his grip when she collapsed to the ground.

“Coraline? Coraline, hey, hey, it’s alright, come on…” Jonathan wrapped his arms around her, trying to coax her to stand, but was merely met with a heeled boot to the stomach which caused him to stumble back into the wall of the alley.

“Okay… I guess I deserved that for doing this in the first place…” He mumbled to himself before Coraline let out a piercing scream that caused Jonathan to flinch.

Darting over to her, he grabbed her from behind, putting his hand over her mouth and using his height as leverage to secure his hold on her, before beginning to back down the alley with her.

He was nervous, he’d never traveled with someone under the influence of toxin, usually he simply knocked his test subjects out first before attempting to get away with them.

But Coraline wasn’t reacting well and he knew that if she kept up the noise she as making they would get caught.

“Coraline, please, just shush, you need to be quiet if we’re going to get away. Okay?” Jonathan spoke in a hushed voice, he felt Coraline’s lips moving wildly under his hand and her eyes darted back and forth, filled with something akin to mania.

Jonathan slowly moved his hand away, listening for a moment, and when Coraline made no other sound besides her staggered breathing, he scooped her up into his arms and turned.

It took longer than usual, feeling like forever to Jonathan before they reached the entrance to one of his hideouts, the closest one to the courthouse.

He managed to get the door open and hauled Coraline inside, shutting and pushing the locks to seal it, before he turned and walked upstairs, entering his bedroom and setting Coraline down on the bed.

Brushing her hair out of her face, Jonathan sighed softly before climbing to his feet and making his way quickly downstairs into his lab.

After a few minutes of searching, he came to the realization that, having not used this hideout for a while, there was no toxins or antidotes around, and knowing that it would take too long to manufacture one, he decided Coraline would just have to wait it out.

Jonathan felt honestly terrible, and set to work wetting a clothe with cold water with a frown on his face, before turning and heading back upstairs.

He found Coraline sitting up on the bed, face buried in her knees and arms wrapped around herself. Jonathan sighed softly, sitting down behind her.

Grabbing her wrist when she attempted to swing back and hit him, Jonathan pulled her back and pinned her arms to her sides, wrapping one arm around her to keep them in place before using the other to press the cool washcloth to her heated forehead.

Jonathan sighed softly, pulling her back against his chest and resting his chin on the top of her head, trying his best to comfort her.

“I’m so sorry, Coraline… it was the only way I knew how to get us out of there… I just wanted to make sure we weren’t separated again… I didn’t think before I…”

He sighed, shaking his head and holding her trembling form closer to him, rocking back and forth slightly in an attempt to calm her.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, before exhaustion overtook the younger of the two and she passed out, her breathing slowing and her body ceasing in its trembling.

Jonathan sighed, releasing his grip on her and lowering her onto the bed. He stooped down to check her heartbeat, timing it to the discarded wristwatch that was placed on the bedside table.

When he was satisfied that she was going to be fine, he grabbed the long discarded clothe and went to ring it out and put it away, before he grabbed his notebook and settled down, sitting on the bed beside her.

He began working away, writing out the short observations he had made during Coraline’s hallucinations, though there weren’t many as she had only mumbled during the whole ordeal.

Jonathan knew he’d most likely have to help her to speak once again, as those wretched men had most likely forbidden it in their presence for the fourteen years they held her captive.

His hands shook slightly at the thought of those two men, before he smiled slightly in excitement as his mind began to wander to the horror he could inflict upon them.

Turning to look down at Coraline, he was startled to see her staring up at him with wide, tear filled blue eyes.

Jonathan tutted slightly, setting his book aside and helping Coraline up, allowing her to cling to him while he enveloped her in a comforting hug.

“I’m so sorry, Coraline. I didn’t think before I did that, it was an unwanted experiment, I assure you. I’d never do anything to hurt you. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

She nodded her head softly against his shirt, seemingly not wanting to talk about it.

“If you’re feeling up to it, we can get a move on. I came to this place because I couldn’t take you very far in your… state. I have a better place with more room, including a spare room for you to make your own. Would you like that?”

Coraline looked up at her older brother with a soft smile, nodding her head as his hand brushed away some of the tears that were trailing down her cheek.

“Alright, come on, it’s a bit of a walk but we’ll be fine.” He informed her, climbing off the bed and helping her to her feet.

She nodded softly in response, her hand wrapping around his as he gathered what little he was taking and led her from the hideout and out into the streets of Gotham City.


End file.
